What would you do?

[cruzthepug]

This kinda goes along with the "Get involved or mind your own" thread and not to hijack it, how about this situation. A local trial and reading the above thread got me thinking. In the local case there was a couple sitting at the bar a TGI Fridays when another individual enters, walks past and a few words are exchanges. The guy then pulls out his gun and opens fire shooting 3 and killing 2.

Now, what do you do if your sitting in the restaurant and your armed? Take cover and hope bullets don't fly your way? Take aim and take down the shooter? If you weren't paying attention to what had happened earlier you might not know the gunman was aiming at someone or if it was just a random loony shooting up the place.

What would you do?

[Piece Corps]

If I was armed, the shooter is going down. Especially in Florida, your life doesn't have to be the only one in danger. I wouldn't wait around to see if he was shooting into the ceiling or at me - as soon as he starts discharging that firearm, he is endangering everyone in the restaurant, including me. And I will shoot him dead.

[Glock Fan]

It all depends on who's with me at the time. If I'm by myself, then I'd do what I can to get others to safety and return fire if given the opportunity. If I'm with family, friends, or other innocents who are "unarmed", I'd get them outta there and be following behind them. Once in a safe place, I'll make the 911 call and assist in the meantime if necessary.

Unless I'm backed into a corner, I will usually make an effort to get outta there. I'm not "Superman", nor some type of "super hero". I'm not a sworn LEO, so there's no "duty to protect" on my part. Call it what you like, but it's what I would do. Considering the fact that I'm not up to being arrested and put on trial if things don't turn out the way I want them to. Even if I'm successful at neutralizing the threat, I will probably incur some legal fees and my freedom may be limited for a while as the LE agencies and DA figure things out. Even if cleared of criminal charges, I would still face possible civil litigation from the BG's surviving family members. Win or lose, I'll have to spend some time in court defending myself. Along side me would be my legal counsel. His billable hours for court are around $300/hr. Not sure that I'm willing to go into debt if I could have avoided it.



gf

[krazyk]

Originally Posted by Glock Fan

It all depends on who's with me at the time. If I'm by myself, then I'd do what I can to get others to safety and return fire if given the opportunity. If I'm with family, friends, or other innocents who are "unarmed", I'd get them outta there and be following behind them. Once in a safe place, I'll make the 911 call and assist in the meantime if necessary.

Unless I'm backed into a corner, I will usually make an effort to get outta there. I'm not "Superman", nor some type of "super hero". I'm not a sworn LEO, so there's no "duty to protect" on my part. Call it what you like, but it's what I would do. Considering the fact that I'm not up to being arrested and put on trial if things don't turn out the way I want them to. Even if I'm successful at neutralizing the threat, I will probably incur some legal fees and my freedom may be limited for a while as the LE agencies and DA figure things out. Even if cleared of criminal charges, I would still face possible civil litigation from the BG's surviving family members. Win or lose, I'll have to spend some time in court defending myself. Along side me would be my legal counsel. His billable hours for court are around $300/hr. Not sure that I'm willing to go into debt if I could have avoided it.



gf

i feel ya Brother

[Boomboy007]

I would have a hard time standing by and watching people, even strangers, be murdered when I could stop the gunman.

[Glock Fan]

Originally Posted by Boomboy007

I would have a hard time standing by and watching people, even strangers, be murdered when I could stop the gunman.

I've thought the scenario through many times. As stated earlier, if I'm by myself, I'd do what I can to help out. My first obligation would be to keep my family safe. Engaging a BG would likely put them at risk. Getting them to safety would be my first concern. Helping others would be a close second.

Earlier in life I saved an elderly man who I found unconcious. I'm an AHA CPR/First Aid instructor. My efforts managed to revive the man. He was unconcious for several minutes, he survived but ended up with brain damage and needed to be cared for in a skilled nursing facility. The family decided that they needed to sue me because I didn't bring the man back to life fast enough. In this case, being a "good guy" cost me almost $8k in legal fees. The case was eventually dismissed, but I still needed to pay approx. half of my legal fees (hence the $8k) not to mention the time and aggrivation of beiong put on trial.

It's unfortunate, but due to this incident I've come to the course of action as stated in my previous post. I hate to think what would have happened if it were a firearms related incident. Sometimes I wonder if I would have been better off if the man died. Would I help again if I came into a similar situation? I definitely would, but now I have insurance that would cover most of my legal expenses. Unfortunately I can't find an insurance policy that would cover me in the event of a shoot out with a BG.


gf

[Boomboy007]

Talk about learning the hard way. You have given me a lot to consider, GF.

[gdcleanfun]

GF, that man's family wouldn't know a Good Samaritan if it bit them in the arse! The judge should have thrown that case against you outta court from the get-go!

[ricbak]

Originally Posted by Glock Fan

I've thought the scenario through many times. As stated earlier, if I'm by myself, I'd do what I can to help out. My first obligation would be to keep my family safe. Engaging a BG would likely put them at risk. Getting them to safety would be my first concern. Helping others would be a close second.~~

GF Thank you for this post... I woke up thinking about it early this morning. My family Must come first. Our "Obligation", our duty is to keep them safe. You are a wise man GF.. Thanks again.

[Glock Fan]

Originally Posted by ricbak

GF Thank you for this post... I woke up thinking about it early this morning. My family Must come first. Our "Obligation", our duty is to keep them safe. You are a wise man GF.. Thanks again.

A few years ago, when asked the same question, my answer would probably have been a lot different. Having been through a bunch of training courses, I learned that it's o.k. to take care of my family and friends, and ensure their safety before helping others. If I'm alone, I'd do whatever I could to assist others. If my son is with me, it's hard to do anything because the 4 year old wants to "help daddy". In the process of helping others, he could get seriously injured. Hence why my course of action has changed. Get the innocents to safety first, then help out where necessary. A simple call to 911 may make all the difference.

Not every scenario will be the same. When I'm out and about I'm constantly looking for avenues of escape and considering the "what ifs". Part of "survival" is having good "situational awareness". We teach this as part of a self-defense class. Be aware of what's happening around you and get outta there if something doesn't look right.



gf